Wayfinding Financial LLC Takes $242,000 Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,031 shares of the railroad operator’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,536 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 74,333 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $17,446,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $4,466,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 1,299 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere purchased 607 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NSC opened at $233.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.02. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52-week low of $206.71 and a 52-week high of $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Sell-side analysts predict that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $284.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.